Mama's got a brand new... neck
In the history of my blog, there have been lots of entries about necks, specifically my own and its state of injury from auto accidents. This time, though, it's my mother's neck.
Mom had been having some shooting pains in her arms for a few years. She got them checked out once or twice--doctors attributed it to pulled muscles or something like that that, with time, would heal itself.
The pains continued, though, and then mom began dropping stuff without reason. She was trying to keep a grip, but couldn't. And then her shoulder hurt severely. And then her thumbs were numb.
By January of this year, mom was seeing a physical therapist for two compressed discs in her cervical spine (the neck). (Part of what mom was suffering is called Cervical Radiculopathy.) The physical therapy, in combination with some pain killers, helped, but mom didn't want to live on pain killers. Ultimately, if mom was to live a normal life, she would need surgery.
And the surgery is not typical.
Monday they removed two of my mother's cervical vertebrae and replaced them. The link above is to WebMD's article about artificial vertebrae replacement. That's not what they did for mom, though.
My mom has two new/old vertebrae--direct from a cadaver.
Talk about weird. I freaked out at first. But really, it's like an organ transplant.
She's recovering now. She's in some pain, but doing okay. There's talk of possible blood clots, so they're keeping her at the hospital a little longer. She'll be off work and in a hard neck brace till her doctors say she can do otherwise.
All of us in the family were petrified of the surgery because there's always talk of risks... But so far, prayer has carried mom. It's amazing that medicine can do things like this--give my mom someone else's kindly-donated vertebrae. I'm still in awe. For now, we're caring for mom and praying for mom. Your prayers are welcome, too. :-)
**UPDATE 7/2/09 10:20 p.m.**
Mom is not doing so well. They've found a blood clot near her heart, and blood thinner to help break up the clot might be dangerous (causing hematoma or paralysis, considering she had a neck surgery). I visited tonight and she looks okay, but we'll know more tomorrow when the doctors decide if she can go on coumadin or not.
Your prayers are wanted, needed, and appreciated.
